Awards

Each year at the Annual Conference, the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless recognizes individuals and organizations for their outstanding work in the effort to end homelessness in Minnesota. This year we have a bunch of new awards meant to shine a light on amazing people with lived experience, advocates, service providers, and organizations.

Read below and submit your nominations by August 24th, 2022.

Rising Star Award

The Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless wants to honor the new perspectives and energy that newcomers to our field contribute in the early years of their career. The Rising Star Award recognizes individuals with fewer than five years of experience and will shine a light on their commitment to addressing homelessness and advancing housing stability.

Join us in recognizing the efforts of a rising star in our field. Nominees should be within the first five years of their time in this field to be considered. We strongly encourage you to nominate community members with lived experience of homelessness and housing instability, and members of the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disability communities. 

Nominate someone for the Rising Star Award today!

Luminary Award

The Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless wants to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to ending homelessness for five or more years. The Luminary Award gives recognition to individuals with at least five years of experience in serving their community; this award will shine a light on their commitment to advancing housing stability. Join us in celebrating the experience, dedication, and wisdom of an outstanding individual in the effort to provide every Minnesotan with a safe and dignified home.

Nominees should have more than five years of experience in this field to be considered. We strongly encourage you to nominate community members with lived experience of homelessness and housing instability, and members of the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disability communities. Current board and staff members of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless are not eligible.

Nominate someone for the Luminary Award today!

Catalyst Award for Advocates of the Year

Advocacy is one of the biggest pillars in enacting great, systemic change to the systems that will help end homelessness in Minnesota. Advocates who are able to motivate, inspire, and embolden members of the community can build the relationships that change the world. We want to take an opportunity to lift up two of these amazing advocates.

Join us in recognizing the efforts of two outstanding individuals with passion and drive for social and policy change. We strongly encourage you to nominate community members with lived experience of homelessness and housing instability, and members of the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disability communities.

There will be two winners selected, one of each from the 7-County Metro and Greater Minnesota areas.

Nominate someone for the Catalyst Award for Advocates of the Year today!

Northern Light Award for Inspiring Organizational Leadership

The Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless will honor organizations working to ensure every Minnesotan has a safe, dignified, affordable and accessible home. We invite you to submit your nominations for the Northern Light Award that will shine a light on two incredible organizations that are making significant contributions to advancing housing stability in Minnesota.

Organizations across the continuum of housing—from homeless service providers to housing providers—will be considered, including but not limited to:

  • Organizations working to end homelessness by confronting housing challenges on a local, regional, or statewide level.
  • Organizations focused on the intersectionality of racial justice, LGTBQ+ equity, and other marginalized groups.

There will be two winners selected, one of each from the 7-County Metro and Greater Minnesota areas.

Nominate an organization for the Northern Light Award today!

Past Recipients of the Steve O’Neil Outstanding Organizer Award:
2013 – Cathy Heying
2014 – Matt Traynor
2015 – Angela Larson
2016 – Monica Nilsson
2017 – Robert Hofmann
2018 – MK Nguyen & Tammy Moreland
2019 – Beth Peterson
2020 – No Winners for 2020 as we had to cancel our conference due to Covid-19.
2021 – Sheri Riemers & Tyra K Thomas

Past Recipients of the Congressman Bruce Vento Distinguished Service Award:
2006 – Keith Denison
2007 – Wendy Wiegmann
2008 – St. Paul Police
2009 – Lester Drift/Ken Kunzman (posthumously)
2010 – Rick Podvin
2011 – Sally Auger
2012 – Rick Klun
2013 – Greg Owen
2014 – Justin Vorbach
2015 – Deb Holman
2016 – Shery Block
2017 – Heather Linduala
2018 – Erich Lutz
2019 – Marian Wright
2020 – No Winners for 2020 as we had to cancel our conference due to Covid-19.
2021 – Catherine Johnson, Laura Birnbaum & Tracy Berglund